M1 Singapore Fringe 2022: An Interview with organisers The Necessary Stage

This week, the annual M1 Singapore Fringe Festival is returning to our shores. Organised by The Necessary Stage, this year’s festival marks the second since the pandemic began, and is a spiritual follow-up to the previous Fringe’s theme of Quiet Riot, which featured works that zoomed in on individuals and groups finding new ways of agitating for change from within. Change remains a subtle focus … Continue reading M1 Singapore Fringe 2022: An Interview with organisers The Necessary Stage

★★★☆☆ Review: Big Brown Girl by How Drama

Dating in a time of Tinder, encapsulated in this interactive mini musical revue. Thanks to the advent of dating apps, love has become a commodity, where a simple swipe right could land you the man of your dreams (or maybe, a hot one night stand). With the ability to filter, judge and block a potential date based on profile alone however, these same dating apps … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Review: Big Brown Girl by How Drama

By The Book: #BuySingLit becomes a year-long movement and rebrands to Sing Lit: Read Our World

The fifth edition of the annual #BuySingLit movement returns with a refreshed identity, announcing a new name – Sing Lit: Read Our World. The name change comes as the industry-led initiative expands into a year-round movement to bring Singapore literature (Sing Lit) to audiences all day, every day.  Over the course of the year, the Sing Lit: Read Our World movement will be rolling out … Continue reading By The Book: #BuySingLit becomes a year-long movement and rebrands to Sing Lit: Read Our World

How Drama’s Big Brown Girl: An Interview with co-creator Ross Nasir

If ever How Drama wanted to make a statement, they sure as heck are doing just that, with that new show, unabashedly titled Big Brown Girl. Originally slated to take place earlier this year during the Esplanade’s Flipside 2021, Big Brown Girl is now receiving a December staging, simultaneously playing in-person and streaming live online to round off the year. Co-created by Ross Nasir and … Continue reading How Drama’s Big Brown Girl: An Interview with co-creator Ross Nasir

SGIFF 2021: An Interview with Tan Chui Mui, director of ‘Barbarian Invasion’

If it’s one person you should expect the unexpected from, it’s Malaysian director Tan Chui Mui. A pioneer of the Malaysian New Wave, Tan is a chameleon of a person, constantly challenging herself to go one step further in her artistry, her head a chaotic but dazzling swirl of ideas, and always ensuring that the work she puts out is of a high quality. In … Continue reading SGIFF 2021: An Interview with Tan Chui Mui, director of ‘Barbarian Invasion’

Music Is: Catching up with YAØ and his new single ‘WUW’

Since we last spoke almost six months ago, local musician YAØ has been keeping busy. Not only has he collaborated with local singer Aisyah Aziz on a cover of ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’ from Grease, he’s also gone viral on TikTok with a ridiculously catchy lo-fi R&B cover of the Don Don Donki theme song, and even started pursuing his BA in music at LASALLE … Continue reading Music Is: Catching up with YAØ and his new single ‘WUW’

Momotaro and the Magnificent Peach: An Interview with Director and Playwright Dwayne Lau

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but what about a peach? In the case of Wild Rice, they’re presenting you with a big, in fact, a Magnificent peach this holiday season that’s sure to chase the pandemic blues away, with their brand new year-end pantomime Momotaro and the Magnificent Peach. Adapted from the Japanese folk tale of Momotaro, the musical theatre … Continue reading Momotaro and the Magnificent Peach: An Interview with Director and Playwright Dwayne Lau

Interview: Erwin Shah Ismail and Daniel Jenkins on The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

In a single lifetime, it’s difficult to get a chance to experience all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays, whether it’s the most heartbreaking of tragedies, or the most hilarious of comedies. So why not take the prime opportunity the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) has provided now, as they stage The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), in a single night? Directed by Daniel Jenkins, and starring … Continue reading Interview: Erwin Shah Ismail and Daniel Jenkins on The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Music Is: ShiGGa Shay collabs with HUGO on new single ‘Passive Aggressive’

‘Passive Aggressive’ is ShiGGa Shay’s formal follow-up to ‘uRight (feat. Jay Park)’. The song deals with the topic of mental health, how we tend to dwell too much about the past and worry too much about the future – we forget how to be present. It is like an internal conversation ShiGGa Shay has with his inner voice. The accompanying music video for ‘Passive Aggressive’ … Continue reading Music Is: ShiGGa Shay collabs with HUGO on new single ‘Passive Aggressive’

By The Book: Hedwig Anuar Book Children’s Awards 2021 judges announced

Award-winning Canadian children’s book illustrator and author Sydney Smith will be one of the three judges for the Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award (HABA), together with National Institute of Education (NIE) lecturer Dr Donna Lim, as well as bestselling Singapore author Adeline Foo. Dr Donna Lim will be the Chief Judge. Sydney Smith is best known for his critically-acclaimed wordless picture book Sidewalk Flowers, while … Continue reading By The Book: Hedwig Anuar Book Children’s Awards 2021 judges announced